I have never been one to turn to the back of the book to see how it ended.
Even when you know the outcome, or know the outcome will be good, as in the
Hardy Boys series, you know all will turn out OK. That Frank and Joe with help
form friends Chet and Biff will somehow outwit and foil the crooks. And the
last paragraph will tell you to read of their next adventure, sure to be even
more exciting. And although the ending may be exciting, it is what occurred in
the in-between that is even more exciting, the story we care to read. So I
don’t like to skip ahead, for the good stuff is in the middle. Between the
alpha and the omega for you Greek types. So when someone sees me today, and has
heard of my open heart surgery last year, all they see is the happy ending, not
what we endured to get there. And I often reflect on the afternoon I was to be
released from rehab, after only four days. I was scheduled to be there for four
weeks. But as they did the heart tests, and I passed them all, a young girl
came in pushing the ultrasound cart. And froze and then broke into a huge
smile. “You don’t remember me, but I sure remember you. I was there when life
flight landed, and you were the sickest person we had ever seen that wasn’t
dead!” And broke into a smile that turned into laughter. “I can’t wait to go
home and tell my husband!” She had seen the beginning, and a glimpse of the in
between, but was able to rejoice at the end. She was there, but at one time in
no way could have l looked into the future to see what God had planned.
Theresa tells me of when Dr. Walinsky came out of surgery, exhausted and
threw his hands up. Telling her I should be dead, and how he couldn’t promise
her 12 hours. And how each second must have lasted minutes, and minutes hours
as she watched the clock for those 12 hours. Believing God for a miracle. A
victory had been won on the operating table, but the story wouldn’t end there.
And as she looks back now and rejoices that I am still with her, it is the times
that were the toughest we look back at and rejoice over. When I was weakest,
God was strongest. So much for my strength. And for my trip through the Valley
of the Shadow of Death, I was there, but couldn’t even walk it. I had to be
carried, that is what I remember, and that is what I celebrate. And as the days
turned into weeks, and weeks into months, we celebrate each day that God has
given me, and us, but always look back to the time He carried us to get us where
we are today. Better than any Hardy Boy thriller, we know the ending, and thank
a merciful and loving God for getting us here today.
We are coming upon Resurrection Day, aka Easter. And many will sing
sonnets about their Easter bonnets, with all the frills upon it. We love to
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It gives us hope, and allows us to
look forward to that day we see Him in heaven. But we spend very little time on
Good Friday. We all know some Easter songs, how many Good Friday songs do you
know? Do you know of anyone who wears a Good Friday bonnet? Yet we forget that
the cross was where the victory was won. It was a horrible place, and I wonder
sometimes how Jesus felt for that six hours on the cross. How each minute must
have felt like hours, but He knew why and what lied ahead. For 12 hours my wife
watched the clock, Jesus hung for six. Can we remember that when we celebrate
Easter? Can we think of the horror, pain, and agony He selflessly endured for
us? Can we give Him even a few minutes today, that cost Him six hours? He is
the Alpha and the Omega-please don’t just read ahead to the ending and forget
what it took to get there.
When Jesus looks at us He can exclaim with great joy, just like the girl
who did my ultrasound did. We were all the sickest people He had ever seen that
weren’t dead. And He gave us life, offering His own. We all know that heaven
awaits those that have placed our confidence and lives in Him, but are we
willing to share with others our testimony, from what should have been our time
on the cross, and how He rescued us from it? Or are you just all about you, and
can’t wait to the end? I also think what if Jesus had come back a day before I
got saved? Where would I be now? And I am glad He is patient that none should
perish.
So rejoice in the empty tomb, but rejoice even more in the empty cross.
The place of victory, where al sin was eradicated for us, if only we choose to
follow Him who hung there. It may be the happy ending that get us excited, but
it is the testimony of how we got here that people want to hear, and that God
tells us to share. By the blood of the Lamb, and the word of of our testimony,
we see people saved. By grace. Exciting times lay ahead, don’t forego what it
took to get there. Never lose sight of the cross. Without Good Friday we would
have no Easter. Without the cross, no empty tomb. And without Jesus no hope of
eternity. Read of His testimony today. And add yours to it. At the cross,
where the sickest people ever that were dead came to life. Now that’s a story
worth reading over...and over...
By the way, my ultrasound was great. “No reason I should be in the
hospital,” and she even noted no follow up needed. I was resurrected. No
sonnet, no Easter bonnet. At the foot of the cross.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com